


Phoenix

by Saiainohito, Zory_Alechiv



Series: One Breath [1]
Category: Fall Out Boy, Soul Punk - Patrick Stump (Album)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Soul Punk Era (Fall Out Boy)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:07:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28725576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saiainohito/pseuds/Saiainohito, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zory_Alechiv/pseuds/Zory_Alechiv
Summary: Patrick Stump is the owner of Caffeine Cold, a small cafe that recently had become a favorite spot for one Ewan McGregor. While they both recover from still healing wounds of past relationships, they find comfort in each other while exploring new pursuits and limits.
Relationships: Ewan McGregor/Patrick Stump, Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz (platonic)
Series: One Breath [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100822
Kudos: 2





	1. Caffeine Cold

Ewan had a rough week. With the finalization of his divorce, his assets were cut in half, his wife was no longer talking to him and would not let him see his daughter. His house was empty. The place would be sold soon enough and he already had a new place waiting for him. Most of his belongings were moved already and he would be out of there. It was his decision, really. This whole thing had not gone nearly as smoothly as he'd hoped, but with the realization of his orientation, and the realization it had always been this way, he couldn't stay silent any longer. His wife, or rather his ex-wife now, had been fairly understanding, up until he realized she'd gotten a lawyer and had taken half of his earnings.    
  
That was tough, but what was worse was hearing his young daughter wanted nothing more to do with him. He'd expected backlash from the media, but not from his family. Ironically enough, the media had taken a rather positive stance on it and even praised him for being as bold as he'd been. That was a shocking turn, but he chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Of course, he suspected that his daughter’s words were not her own. She was only five-years-old, after all. When his wife told him his daughter did not want to see him, he had taken it hard, but the longer he thought about it, he knew. It was not Clara’s words. 

On his way back from the courthouse, he could barely think straight and pulled into a parking lot just off the side of the highway. He had to clear his head. He sat there in his car for a moment and let out a slow breath. Ewan felt dizzy from all of the changes that had happened so quickly in his life and he wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future. Despite the issues with his family, there was a positive to this. He was able to go out and actually explore his newfound freedom.

With that silver lining in mind, he pulled out of the empty parking lot and drove towards his new home. There was a marvelous little coffee shop just a few blocks away that had become his new favorite place. On top of making the best hazelnut latte he'd ever had in his life, the staff was friendly, hilarious and they didn’t gawk at him. With  _ Phantom Menace _ having recently been released, it had become even harder for Ewan to go somewhere publicly and not be stared at or harassed. 

Ewan opened the coffee shop door and smiled a bit at the bell before he took a moment to look around. It was always rather quiet here and he liked that. He didn't want to say he minded his fans; he really didn't. Still, daily life was hard to live when you were constantly stopped for a signature or photo. With a few steps, he was at the counter and Ewan took a moment to smile at the blonde across from him. He nodded to him with a smile. He'd noticed this man was here working often and assumed he was a manager, though he was never wearing a name tag or anything that would let him know for sure. 

"Hey..." His eyes scanned over the menu, though he always ordered the same thing. He constantly told himself he was going to try something new, but he never did.

"Hey Ewan," The blonde cheerfully responded as he grabbed a cut and quickly wrote Ewan’s name. Patrick’s heart rate had spiked the first time the movie star had come in, and he had been certain he'd been a fool and scared the man away, but he continued to come back, despite the way the blonde had stuttered. He'd have to live in a hole to not know the man, and Star Wars had always been one of his favorite franchises. To have Obi-Wan Kenobi in his coffee shop, wanting a hazelnut latte, was beyond belief. Luckily he managed to control his squeals of delight, even as his hands shook behind the counter the first time he served him a hazelnut latte.

"Are you actually going to order something different today?" He asked teasingly, his gaze following Ewan’s as he looked over the menu. It was that the actor was predictable, but he kind of was. He’d come in every day, look over the menu for a moment and sigh before ordering his usual. Patrick just didn’t want to wait in silence while Ewan decided. Of course, he just wanted to hear the man talk and felt his face go hot in embarrassment when he realized that his words had come out not as playful as he intended. Patrick could only assume the man loved his coffee because he certainly didn’t come here for the company.

Ewan looked to the blonde as he spoke and flashed him a bright smile. He knew he was being called out for never following through on his intent to try something new, but he couldn’t be mad about it. It was funny, if anything, that this man remembered the little things about Ewan when he came in and in a way, he liked being remembered.

"Yeah...no, I think that's just..." He paused, and though he truly believed he should try something new, he shook his head. "No, just the usual I think. Maybe next time..." He shrugged a bit, pulled out a few bills from his wallet and put them down on the counter; by now he knew how much the coffee would be. 

"Hazelnut latte, coming up," the barista smiled gently and turned the steamer on to foam up the milk. It gave him time to think. He felt bad for Ewan. It was impossible to not hear of the gossip revolving around the man. He owned a coffee shop - the place everyone went to so they could sit and gossip. And if the people didn’t talk about it, the magazines that were left on the tables did. Even if the media had been kind to him, his family had not been.

As the man-made his coffee, Ewan looked down at his phone but saw that nobody had bothered to reach out to him. With a soft sigh, he shook his head and glanced over at the barista. He offered a little smile and leaned against the counter and spoke up again. "I see you here a lot...do you own the place?" While he thought the man was a little young to own a business, he wasn't one to judge. If anything, he would probably just take it as a joke and shrug it off.

"Huh?" Patrick managed to utter, looking up. The movie star had spoken and it took a moment for his mind to put enough words together in response. "Oh, yea," he smiled as his cheeks warm. His gaze briefly turned to look beyond the front counter toward a small playpen and smiled when he saw his son was still sleeping peacefully. Liam was too young to poke fun at him anyway. "It's my place." He wiped his hand on the towel before reaching across the counter to shake his hand. "I'm Patrick.” The introduction, he realized, should have come days ago when he first saw Ewan in his shop, but better late than never. 

With a soft smile, Ewan reached across and took  _ Patrick’s _ hand in his own to shake. Their eyes met and Ewan paused for a second, though he quickly recovered. "Patrick..." He nodded a bit as he let the sound of the man’s name settle on his tongue before he pulled his hand away and took his coffee. 

“Shooting a movie nearby?" Patrick asked casually, though it was immediately clear that Ewan was hesitating to answer. He wasn't filming nearby, he just  _ lived _ nearby. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell some random person where he lived. He'd learned that lesson long ago. 

"Something like that..." He nodded a bit and grinned. "This has actually quickly become my favorite coffee place. I guess you've realized that though...already remembering my name and order." He laughed a bit and sipped from the disposable cup, letting a pleased sigh escape him.  _ Perfect as always. _

"Well, mom always said if you're good at something, never do it for free, so I’m doing this. " Patrick chuckled as he watched Ewan’s reaction. He was pleased with the approving sound that came from the other man and smiled, proud of himself. "I just happen to be good at making coffee and remembering people," he shrugged.  Ewan grinned at the comment and nodded a bit. He was glad for the bit of conversation. It had been nothing but court dates and lawyers for so long now, that a simple and easy conversation was just what he needed.. Leaning forward a bit as he sipped from the cup, he chuckled.

"Well, your mother is a smart woman." He commented lightheartedly and smiled at him.  It was nice for Patrick that he got to see the attractive actor while he was filming, or whatever it was Ewan was doing here, but it would suck when it was over and Ewan disappeared into the crowd of fame once more. For now, though, he was happy to see him in his shop. He wanted to talk more with the man, but doubted Ewan would open up to a complete stranger. Honestly, it was really none of his business. Still, Patrick was thrilled that instead of going about his business, Ewan leaned against the countertop and continued the conversation.

"I was told the same thing when I started to act. I kept doing these free community theatre shows, and uh, I was told by who would later become my manager, that I should stop doing it for free or I'd never get paid." He laughed a bit and shook his head. "I thought he was crazy."

"Oh, yea?" Patrick was completely enthralled already. "Turned out not to be so crazy, huh?" Liam whined in his playpen and Patrick took a moment as he leaned back to check on him. His son rubbed at his face tiredly before rolling over onto his stomach and returning to sleep.  _ Good _ . He hated dealing with a grumpy two-year-old and his son had at  _ least _ thirty more minutes before Patrick wanted him awake. Ewan paused for a moment as he heard the whine and blinked. Looking towards where Patrick's eyes followed, he smiled a bit and raised a brow. 

"Baby?" Ewan didn't really think that Patrick was even old enough to have a kid, but he had one and  _ he _ wasn't that old either. Patrick smiled softly as Ewan looked at his son. 

"Yea, well," he said, “toddler actually,” he corrected himself, sending his son a soft, fond smile. "I hate putting him in a daycare and usually I'm stuck in the back doing paperwork unless someone needs a break, so I just bring him with me." He shrugged and turned back to face Ewan. The man was most likely just being polite. Patrick couldn’t deny Liam was hard to ignore when he made noises.

Ewan watched Patrick as he spoke and nodded quietly. He understood the desire to have your child near you whenever possible. He’d often be so busy he wouldn’t see Clara while she was awake. Instead, he’d come home late and spend nearly an hour just watching his young daughter sleep. It was the only time he got with her and now, he didn’t even have that. He took half a second to push those thoughts from his mind and instead smiled as he looked back at the sleeping baby. The smile on his face faltered only slightly as it made him miss his own daughter. He wasn't even sure when he was going to see Clara again. It  _ hurt _ . Looking away from the sleeping boy, his gaze moved back to Patrick and he chuckled.

"So can I ask what kind of movie you're doing next? Is that something you're allowed to talk about?" Patrick asked, changing the subject when he noticed Ewan’s attention drifting. He ran the steamer cup under hot water and washed it out in an attempt to keep his hands busy, while he tried to keep Ewan’s attention just to have him here long. As his attention turned back to Ewan, the actor shrugged a bit at the question and just smiled. 

"I have a few movies in the works, but things are starting to slow down a little, so I'm just sitting back for a moment to catch my breath." Ewan had been so focused on the divorce that he was only just starting to think about what to do next. 

"Wow," Patrick exclaimed quietly. "Busy man," he chuckles. "But, not too busy to get his daily caffeine fix.” Patrick laughed a bit and stood up straight once more. 

"Yeah, it's been crazy. But...I'll give you a bit of insider's knowledge if you keep it to yourself." Ewan grinned a bit as his eyes scanned quickly over the blonde. He had no idea what he was doing. He supposed he was trying to flirt with him, but it wasn’t like he was used to this. Besides, Patrick was straight. He had a kid, so he most likely had a wife. And yet…

"Insider's knowledge?" Patrick’s eyes widened with glee. He leaned forward in eager anticipation, an excited smile on his face. "I think you're just teasing me now," he chuckled.

"Well, you wanted to know what I'm working on now, right?" Seeing as the cafe was empty right now, Ewan didn't mind sticking around and chatting. He didn't want to pull Patrick away from his work, but until someone came in, he didn't see the harm. Plus, he was enjoying looking at the attractive, short man.

Sitting on the edge of the counter, he grinned at Patrick and tilted his head. "I'm finishing up a new movie. It's set in the early 1900s. A crazy romance story. I'm a writer..of sorts." He grinned. “Or rather, my character is…” Patrick nodded as he listened, smiling with an eagerness unparalleled by any Ewan had seen before. He paused momentarily as Patrick sat up and spoke to him.

“Want a top off? It's, uh, on the house... since you complimented my coffee skills," he laughed and winked at the man. “You can keep telling me about this movie. It sounds great.”

Blinking a bit at the offer, Ewan smiled and nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great...thanks..." Patrick had heard that sometimes movie stars got a big head and hated talking to fans, but he didn't get that vibe from Ewan. At the very least, Ewan seemed to be humoring him. Maybe it was simply because he made coffee well? If that was the case, he could have as much coffee as he wanted.

Ewan was already one of his favorite actors, not to mention his celebrity crush, and to have him talking to him like a regular guy was amazing. He was trying to keep from completely making an idiot of himself as he busied himself with making the coffee. He was quick to make the refill in a new cup and carefully wrote out Ewan's name on this one as well before handing it over, quick to hide a shiver as their fingertips brushed against each other. "So do you get to wear any cool clothing?" He asks, swallowing hard.

"Just suits really....oh, and these old school glasses..." Ewan shrugged a bit and grinned. He dared a quick glance at Patrick’s hand as he handed him the coffee, and was delighted not to see a wedding ring. "Nothing crazy like Star Wars. It's pretty normal in that regard, I guess..." He chuckled a bit and looked around the store. He wondered sometimes what it would be like to work a normal job. The hours would be more consistent, that's for sure. 

Looking back at him, Ewan smiled softly and was about to speak again - maybe ask him to go for a drink with him - when a couple of women came into the cafe. He cleared his throat quietly and stood up. "I should get going. See you around, Patrick." He grinned at him and held up the full cup that had just been made for him. "Thanks again..." 

Patrick straightened up, flashing the women a forced smile as Ewan grabbed his coffee cup that was refilled. "Sure Ewan, next time. Maybe you’ll let me experiment and we can find something else you might like," he smiled more genuinely at the actor before turning back to the two women. Ewan walked off, though noticed one of the women staring at him. He might have to do a few trips around the block just to make sure nobody followed him home.

The actor left the coffee shop feeling a bit lighter than he had in the past few weeks. After he got into his car, he sat there for a second and smiled stupidly. He'd just had a really good conversation with the gorgeous blonde guy at his coffee shop. If he hadn't gone there enough beforehand, he certainly would now. He'd started laying the groundwork for what was going to be a potentially great thing. Patrick having a kid threw him off, but he hadn’t seen a wedding ring on his finger. Still, that didn’t mean he was interested in men. It also didn’t mean that Patrick wasn’t interested in trying something if he was single.

The rest of Ewan’s evening was spent unpacking. His new place was still a bit messy and disorganized, and it still felt empty without the sounds of Clara. After a while, he gave up on the endeavor and plopped down on his couch with a glass of red wine. He looked around at his apartment and for a moment, everything seemed okay...and then he put his head in his hands and cried.


	2. This one's for You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saiainohito: Guys, Zory and I must have re-edited this chapter about a million times. But here it is in its perfect form. Enjoy!

It was a few days later before Ewan had finished filming early enough to make it back to the coffee shop. There were a few scenes left to film before this movie was finished and he was exhausted. His day consisted of early mornings (starting well before 4 am) and evenings that lasted far past midnight. Luckily, he had a day off while they fixed the set because Ewan _might_ have fallen into the wall. There _may_ have even been a bruise under his eye from it. 

Ewan walked into the coffee shop and was surprised that it was actually fairly busy. He never really came at this time, but after getting sent home early due to the set ‘ _issue’_ , he needed coffee and a conversation. The second thing that surprised him was that Patrick wasn't at the till. He almost considered leaving but he still wanted a coffee, so he decided to wait it out in the lineup anyway.

For Caffeine Cold, it had been a bit busier that day than a normal afternoon at the cafe. Instead of doing paperwork at his desk and keeping an eye on his son, Patrick had a baby monitor strapped to his belt while Liam slept in the breakroom and currently had his head under the espresso machine as he tried to fix the hose for the water. 

Pete, of course, had been the most helpful by standing behind him and laughing. He’d throw away comments like 'If Ewan could see you now, he'd be back more often,' and 'Maybe we should market that ass Patrick, it's sure to draw in a date for you.' Pete had only been teasing, and the blonde was used to comments like that by now. Pete was just Pete, and if an offhand flirtatious comment flustered his boss, then his day was made. Their bantering had put a delay in the repair and by the time he popped his head above the counter, they had a longer line than he liked to see.

Ewan grinned a little as he saw Patrick pop his head up. After all, it didn't really make sense for the man to not be here when he'd seen him every time he'd been here in the past. As Patrick and the tattooed cashier rushed to catch up on the orders, he was impressed by how Patrick kept his cool through it all. To be fair, the customers didn’t seem to really be in much of a hurry, and Ewan could only assume that the cafe had a lot of regular customers who understood and didn’t mind waiting.

"Oh," Patrick uttered softly when he saw Ewan waiting patiently in line, his face heating up immediately. His eyes fell on a dark mark underneath Ewan’s eye and he frowned, wondering what had happened. "I'll make the drinks," he said a little louder and pushed Pete out of the way. He grabbed a coffee cup to make Ewan’s usual order, though he was clearly a bit flustered. Pete looked between Patrick and Ewan before snickering, earning a swat on the arm from the blonde. 

While Pete began to take orders and hand over the named cups to his friend, Patrick made the actor's drink. Patrick knew the man must be busy, but a part of him wanted to impress him as well. Okay, so maybe he was giving the actor special treatment, and he’d be lying if part of it wasn’t because of _who_ he was. Truthfully, he wanted Ewan to remember him because he liked the way the man smiled right after he took his first sip. Not that the world would know _that_ particular secret.

"Pre-order, " he explained to the customers who stood waiting as he caught their eager eyes on him. They wouldn't know the difference. He waved the cup towards his new friend, the name displayed so Ewan would know it was his.

Patrick's eyes met with Ewan’s, and the actor was surprised to see the cup in his hand had his name on it. He hadn't even ordered yet! He smiled a little and chuckled as he stepped out of the line and over to where Patrick stood. "Special treatment for me now?"

"Shh," Patrick chuckled, quick to hand the cup off to Ewan before he began on the next drink. "It's definitely not special treatment. You're a regular." He quickly denied the comment, though his cheeks flushed at the thought. Pete scoffed beside him and Patrick glared at him. His _now ex-best friend_ merely laughed at him before his attention returned to the line in front of him. It _wasn't_ special treatment. He just liked Ewan and wanted him to come back. _That's all it was._

As Ewan took his first sip, he sighed happily and gave Patrick a bright, dreamy smile. He really needed this coffee and it was as perfect as always. As Patrick made drink after drink, he felt a bit bad for distracting him, though the man's smile cast towards him as he worked pushed that thought aside. 

"Been pretty busy, huh?" He asked Ewan while he handed off drinks to the waiting customers. He wanted to ask about the man’s black eye, but with so many customers around, he thought it best to wait. No point in drawing attention to something potentially embarrassing. The blonde hated attention drawn to him when _he_ was embarrassed. So instead, he asked about why he hadn’t seen him around lately. 

"Yeah, well...I've been filming super early and super late so I haven't had much of a chance to do anything but that…” Ewan shrugged as he spoke, though offered up a smile to the blonde just to keep it light. Patrick returned the smile and nodded a bit.  
  
"You know I wanted to be famous," he chuckled, leaning forward on his elbows as they talked. "Now I'm glad I'm not. I like being lazy." He heard Pete scoff, muttering something under his breath about ‘his lazy was someone else's busy’ and the blonde rolled his eyes before turning back to Ewan.

The thing was that Patrick had, at one time, craved stardom so bad he would have done anything. _He nearly had._ It was all in the past now, but he was grateful to have faded away for the most part. His name had been forgotten, even if he'd heard his songs on the radio every once in a blue moon.   
  
Ewan was, of course, surprised to hear Patrick wanted to be famous, though he quickly followed it by saying he was glad he wasn't. "Well, you know it's tough...and busy...but it's worth it. To make a living doing something creative that you love..." The actor paused before he decided to move on from the topic. If he lingered too long, he would focus too much on what being famous cost him than what it gave him. “The coffee onset is shit by the way. Have you ever considered working on location?" Ewan joked, though the thought of seeing Patrick as he worked brought about an unexpected sense of joy. 

"Working on location?" Patrick echoed, laughing before he shook his head. "I just _now_ figured out delivery and I let some other company come pick it up." He pursed his lips as he looked to Ewan, his eyes narrowing playfully. "Besides, you're just saying that to keep getting the special treatment." 

"Well, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't for my benefit. I'm not kidding when I say the coffee there is terrible...but we are just about finished with this movie so at least I won't have to deal with that for a little while. Soon it'll just be a bunch of press stuff and whatnot." He leaned against the countertop, rubbing his face a bit tiredly and wincing as his hand moved across the bruise still forming.

"You seem pretty busy here today...got some sort of sale on or something?" Thinking about that, he reached into his pocket to grab his wallet. Since he hadn't ordered, he hadn't paid and he didn't like that at all. Patrick waved his hand when he saw the money. 

"Only because you complimented my coffee the other day," he teased. Ewan smiled and put his wallet away though wasn’t keen on giving up quite yet. Patrick made a few more drinks while Ewan stood off to the side, the line soon thinning out. "I think it's finals week or something. We usually get an after-work crowd, though. I stay through that and then give the closing staff their break before I head home."

As Ewan continued to sip from his coffee cup, he relaxed a bit and watched the cafe quiet down. It wasn't that he minded crowds, but he didn't want to make Patrick get behind on his work. He'd feel terrible if he couldn't get out on time or had angry customers because Ewan kept distracting him. Now, though, it was quiet and there were a few people sitting at the tables and for the first time since Ewan had walked in, there was no line-up. 

Ewan still felt weird about not paying and looked over to Pete, quietly slipping him a five-dollar bill when Patrick wasn't looking, though it seemed he wasn’t quite sneaky enough. "Go get dinner Pete, I want to go home." Patrick’s tone was light and teasing, though the stern look he gave the two men made it clear he saw exactly what happened. Pete laughed a bit and waved before he disappeared into the back. Patrick turned back to the actor with a small smile. "Don't think I didn't see that," he teased as he finally served the last customer their drink.

"Well, it looks like it's settled down,” Ewan diverted the conversation away from his second attempt at paying, “but I should still get out of your way anyway. Thanks for the coffee..." Patrick frowned when Ewan said he was leaving, urgently trying to find a reason to keep him there. As Ewan turned to leave, he stopped as he saw a few younger girls peering in through the window at him. "Ah, shit..." Patrick looked up when he heard the actor curse and frowned.

"Something wrong?" He asked, following Ewan's gaze to the window. Ewan seemed to recognize them. In fact, Ewan _did_ recognize them. He saw them everywhere he went and the last thing he wanted was for them to start coming here all the time. He liked this place too much to give it up. 

The way Ewan stared at the window made it clear he really didn't want those girls to know he was here. "Uh..." He muttered as he looked back at Patrick. "I don't suppose you've got a back door?" Patrick blushed at the question. He couldn't help it. Being so distracted, it took a minute before it completely registered what Ewan was really asking; long enough for the butterflies to take off in his stomach and the blush to creep down his neck. Of course, he meant an escape. Guys like Ewan didn't hit on guys like Patrick, plain and simple; not when he looked like this.

"No," he says a little sadly, even as he reached for the half-door separating his coffee counter from the customers. "But, you can hide if you want." He didn't want fans in here either. They would crowd the place uselessly and his regulars would find somewhere new to go. _Ewan_ would find somewhere new to go.

Ewan looked to Patrick, down to the now open half-door, and back up to the blonde before he nodded quickly. Even if he couldn't escape, he could hide and that was a close second. The actor disappeared quickly through the doors, sparing a quick thankful glance for Patrick, and even paused to give him a quick hug. 

"Thanks..." He muttered before disappearing into the back. Patrick stiffened in surprise when Ewan hugged him, not reacting till the man had disappeared through the swinging door. He was certainly grateful Pete wasn't there to see him flush and gape like an idiot at that moment. He really wished he had hugged him back but had been too stunned by the sudden hug to do much of anything but stand there.

As Ewan rushed into the back, he ducked down quietly and hid once he heard the girls talking. He had a feeling he might not be leaving here for a while as they tended to linger, so he took a moment to look around. Pete was there, eating his lunch, and spared the odd glance to the cowering actor, to which Ewan just shared an awkward smile and moved on. He paused as he saw the small boy in a playpen, staring back at him. "Oh..."

The baby watched the newcomer who had entered the room with innocent curiosity. It wasn't the man he was always with, nor was it any of the other two people who seemed to always be around, but the man he saw now was someone who could get him out of his crib. He began to whine and raised his hands, clasping his little fingers in the air.

Meanwhile, Patrick stood behind the counter, trying not to look at the door that Ewan had gone through while the women chattered on the other side of the counter. It wasn’t until the chatting stopped and one of the women coughed in irritation that Patrick realized he hadn’t been paying attention.

"Oh, good afternoon," he cleared his throat and grabbed a cup, anticipating a drink order.

"Was Ewan McGregor in here?" One of the women interrupted before he could ask what they wanted to drink.

"Who?" He played dumb, raising his head with a deadpan, uninterested expression. He heard Ewan's soft 'Oh' on the baby monitor and quickly turned it down in case they recognized his voice. 

"You know, Obi-Wan," she urged, impatient with him already.

"Who?" He asked again like he didn't know _exactly_ who they were talking about. The girls just weren't taking the hint, but he knew sounding defensive would only keep them here longer. He knew that the actor didn't want a crowd to be here, and Patrick definitely didn't want his cafe filled with people who could care less about the coffee. Eventually, they got the hint though because why would he let someone he didn't know come behind the counter? It was frustrating dealing with them and he wondered if Ewan would come back with the risk that they would return. He wouldn't blame him if he didn't, but it still hurt to imagine.

Ewan was trying to listen in to what was happening with the girls outside. He couldn't hear too well but Patrick was playing dumb and he hoped it worked. These types of fans were everywhere and it was really starting to annoy him. They didn't seem to give up easily. His eyes found their way back to the child in the pen and smiled a bit. In a lot of ways, it made him miss Clara, but he pushed that feeling aside for now and picked up the boy. 

He really hoped that Patrick wouldn't mind but he couldn't help it. He was adorable, but Ewan also anticipated that if he kept whining like that, it would draw the attention of the women. He put the small boy in his lap, smiling down at him as he bounced him lightly. Pete watched on quietly from where he was chewing on his donut and chuckled a bit. 

“You’re lucky that boy has such a big crush on you, or he’d probably deck you for touching his kid.” Ewan’s eyes widened and shot up to look at the man sitting across from him. _Information overload._ For one, he should probably put the kid down before he ended up with _two_ black eyes; and two, Patrick had a crush on him?

“I’m sorry, you said...he..” It was both lucky and unfortunate that Patrick had turned the monitor down while he’d been dealing with the women and did not hear Pete’s comment to Ewan. The blonde did, however, hear giggling through the door. His son was giggling and once the girls had left, Patrick went to the ice machine and filled up a small bag with ice. He wrapped a small towel around the bag and walked towards the back, quietly opened the door to find Ewan bouncing Liam on his knee and his son having the time of his life. The blonde smiled affectionately at them both before he eventually spoke up. 

"He likes you. Usually, if I am nearby he doesn't want to go to anyone else." Ewan was so distracted by the tiny human in his hands he didn't even notice Patrick come into the doorway. When Patrick spoke up, Ewan blushed at being caught and stopped bouncing Liam. The way the boy was giggling from something so simple made him smile. He hadn't felt this kind of emotion in a while and while it made him miss his daughter, it also made him feel good. _Like a dad again._

"Oh, sorry...He just...I couldn't help myself." Ewan was a bit surprised by Patrick's comment, though once he saw that the blonde didn't seem to mind that he was holding his son, he bounced him again. The little boy seemed to really be enjoying it and he wasn't going to lie, he enjoyed spending time with the little guy, too.

"It's fine," Patrick answered automatically, the smile still on his face as he leaned against the doorway. "He has that effect on everyone," he commented with a roll of his eyes before he straightened up and moved over to where the two sat.

The smile remained as Liam looked at him and Patrick widened his eyes playfully in response. "Are you having fun?" He shook his head at his son with a grin, pursing his lips to make a funny face as his son kept giggling. He set the ice pack down on the desk near Ewan’s elbow and pointed up to his eye before smiling fondly down at his son.

Ewan looked at the ice pack in confusion before chuckling a bit. With a short shake of his head, he smiled but denied it. “It’s fine…” He muttered, though watched Patrick as he moved around. The boy in his arms was still giggling and it brought a bright smile to Ewan’s face. Patrick moved away and began to fold the playpen, sliding it behind one of the shelves and out of the way before turning his attention to the toys now on the floor. They were quickly rounded up and placed in the basket under the shelves.

Ewan was busy with the child in his hands. Making funny faces and the occasional voice as he talked to Liam, he was happy in the little world he'd created for the two of them. He was aware of Patrick in the room as he cleaned up, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to spend some time with the little boy. "He's such a little sweetheart..."

"Wait until it's bath time," Patrick quipped back. Liam really seemed to be enjoying himself and he hated to pull him away from Ewan when the actor seemed just as happy. He wasn't an idiot. He had seen the tabloids and the harsh articles on the internet, so allowing the man to have a little happiness wasn't that big of a deal; and maybe, it would erase some of those bags under his eyes Patrick was concerned about.

Pete cleared his throat as he stood up, took a moment to glance between the two of them before his eyes narrowed at Patrick. "I'm going back up front. Go home and _don't work_ ," he threatened with a smile before heading back to the front.

“Like I work at home,” he laughs awkwardly, though it was obvious how Ewan didn’t believe him. It only made him grin a little brighter.

With a little bit of an embarrassed look, Ewan smiled softly and looked to Patrick as Pete left. "Looks like you've been told.." He chuckled a bit before looking down at the child. "I guess that’s my cue to get out of here..."

“Mind holding him another moment?" Patrick quickly interrupted him, moving over to the desk instead of reaching for Liam. "I need to pack up, and I want to hear about what happened to your eye.” His tone was light and teasing as he grabbed two bags from under the desk. The dark backpack had a lot of different patches on it, mostly from different bands and the blonde quickly slid his laptop into the bag before shoving a few binders and books in as well. As he began packing up the diaper bag, he looked at Ewan expectantly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’ll just die from curiosity if you don’t.” 

Ewan blushed a bit as he remembered the accident on set and laughed a bit. “Well, I kind of...tripped.” He paused and grinned. “Well, not kind of; I did. And I….fell into the wall of the set we were working on. It’s the whole reason I was actually able to make it here today while you were open...They had to shut the set down to fix it.” His face was a bit red as he said it out loud and sighed. “I’m not usually that much of a klutz...promise!” He held up a hand as if pledging by his words, though the silly grin on his face made it far less serious.

Patrick blinked as he looked up at the actor silently, taking in what he’d just been told. Of all of the reasons he’d considered, Ewan _falling_ through the set hadn’t been one of them. “And I’m letting you hold my baby,” he said as he stared at Ewan in shock before giggling. “Please just sit there. Don’t try and walk,” he teased the man lightheartedly, though he hoped Ewan knew he wasn’t being mean. The actor just smiled up at the blonde, laughing a little under his breath. He could sense the good nature in the comments but was still embarrassed the accident had happened at all.

Patrick was going to say something more, but Liam reached out towards him and he couldn’t deny his son any longer. With a soft smile, Patrick reached out and took his son from the actor and realized that the conversation between Ewan and himself had come to a natural stop, especially when Liam yawned and laid his head against Patrick’s shoulder with his thumb in his mouth. 

“You really should ice that a bit,” he said, swallowing against the pit in his stomach as he looked from his son to Ewan, eyes narrowed on the black bruise. “It might help the swelling. I don’t know how hard you hit the set, after all,” he chuckled. Ewan grinned and tilted his head.

“Worried about me, are you?” Ewan studied the man’s face, delighting in the blush that bloomed across his cheeks. As Patrick stammered a rough denial, his thoughts lingered on how nice it would be to have someone concerned about him again - to care. He took a moment to shove that thought to the back of his mind and sighed. “It’s not that swollen. I had it checked out by the on-set paramedic and they said it would be fine. Easily covered by makeup…”

"That's good. I understand all too well about how an image can say a thousand words," the blonde sighed but didn't go into further detail on something he wasn't ready to talk about and Ewan wasn't ready to hear.

Patrick didn't want to say goodbye. With the appearance of Ewan's fans, he was worried that this would be the last time he saw him. That thought saddened him even while he berated himself for developing a foolish crush on someone like Ewan.

"I'm sorry about those girls, but I guess you kind of get that a lot, don't you?" 

"Yeah, I guess...but it's not normally that bad. Those two are just unrelenting. But now that they didn't have any luck here, I don't think they'll come back, which I'm very glad for. I didn't want to have to find a new coffee place..." Shaking his head a bit in amusement, Ewan took a breath and sighed.

"I didn't want you to find a new coffee place, either," Patrick was quick to retort, though instantly regretted it. "Uh, I mean," he grimaced and hoisted Liam higher on his hip, taking his fedora off with the other hand and brushing his bangs back with the same hand. He'd gotten talented doing that one-handed since having Liam. 

Ewan's little smile never left as he watched Patrick fumble around with his hat. He was nervous, but Ewan didn't fully understand why. Although he was used to fans getting that way around him, Patrick didn't really do that all that much besides the occasional blush. Once the hat was back on his head, Patrick focused his attention on the floor instead and Ewan chuckled once more. He seemed to laugh a lot more around the other man and it didn’t go unnoticed.

"I mean, you like the coffee here, right? And I just got used to making your order," Patrick chuckled through the awkward statement and tried to make himself sound like he was teasing Ewan rather than flirting with him. "I mean, I'd hate to lose a great customer who compliments me all of the time." He really was making this worse.

"Well, it looks like we're both happy about how this went down then.” 

Patrick hummed in agreement that they were both getting what they wanted. He did want Ewan to come back. He hated to admit just how much he looked forward to the visits. 

“I certainly would rather come here and see you every day..." Ewan lowered his head a little bashfully as he spoke, though quickly looked up at him through his bangs, just in time to see Patrick's eyes widen.

"I think you mean my coffee," he deferred the attention quickly as he swallowed his nerves. Ewan let out a soft chuckle under his breath at the response he got. It was one he saw often, even if he wasn't used to flirting with men so openly yet. With a small but bright smile, he met Patrick's gaze. "I meant what I said..."

Patrick didn't know what to do when Ewan that. Not think about it, that was for sure. The brunette may have meant it, but certainly not in the way Patrick's traitorous brain was taking it. He bit his lip to hold back an even more embarrassing reaction and grabbed the diaper bag, hoisting it over his other shoulder. He can't let himself over-read things and he remained silent as the two of them moved out to the front of the shop and outside. 

Ewan followed him out to the street, pulled his keys out of his pocket, and unlocked his car. With a quick glance to Patrick and little Liam in his arms, he paused to take the child's hand in his own and smiled at him. "Bye buddy..."

Patrick smiled when Liam reached back toward Ewan, his tiny hands waving in the air until Ewan took one of them. The blonde held on though, even as the baby stretched further before Patrick hefted him back up onto his hip and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, blowing a raspberry to make him giggle.

"So I'll see you soon?" Patrick asked as he looked back to Ewan. Pete would definitely give him shit over this if he knew how ridiculous he was behaving. Ewan grinned boldly one more time before he stepped back and winked at Patrick.

"Oh, definitely. You can't get rid of me now..."

"I'll hold you to that," he grinned as his son laid his tiny head back on his shoulder. "I think Liam might be upset if you didn't come back." He took the baby's hand in his own, waving goodbye to Ewan before he turned and walked down the street, trying and failing not to think of pale blue eyes looking through long lashes.

As Patrick walked off with the little boy in his arms, Ewan couldn't help but grin. He hadn't slapped him or turned him down when he'd flirted a little bit and that was a great sign. Slowly, but surely, he was going to make an impression on Patrick and when the time was right he would pounce. He knew his way around getting a date, though he honestly was inexperienced with getting a date with a guy. He was fairly hopeful he could get this one if he really wanted it. 

Truthfully, he had no idea if Patrick was gay, despite Pete’s comment about his crush. He probably wasn't actually into him, just an admirer of his work. Ewan being 'out' had recently been plastered all over the media, and whether Patrick was just admiring him or actually interested was an even bigger hurdle he had yet to cross. It was a question Ewan needed answered and he hoped that what he planned over the next few days would put the debate to rest. If Patrick didn't turn him down or stop his advances...he must be interested, right? He took his time driving back to his place and even stopped on the way home for some beer before he finally settled in. Exhausted as he was, he had a lot of thinking...and a lot of planning to do.

Not too far away, Patrick had a lot of thinking to do, as well, though he was trying not to focus on his interactions with Ewan. Of course, the more he tried not to think about it, the more impossible it became _not_ to think about. The distraction of Liam’s dinner time, the fight with the bath, and the incessant crying as he was put to bed was something he was usually eager to wrap up. Tonight, however, he wished it had lasted a little longer.

With no more distractions, Patrick found himself sitting on the couch with a beer, baby monitor beside his feet as he propped them up on the table. He scrolled through his phone, re-reading the news articles that talked about Ewan coming out of the closet. At least he wasn't working, right Pete? Stalking a customer that visited your coffee shop to see if he was single wasn't entirely appropriate either, but then why didn’t Patrick feel guilty about it? He continued to scroll through the internet until he had found what he was looking for. It was a fairly recent article and it reminded the blonde of when he came out. It had been quiet and mostly ignored since he also liked women, with Liam being clear evidence.

What if Ewan _was_ flirting with him? Why? Was it a publicity stunt that would haunt Patrick later? No...he remembered the way Ewan had been looking at Liam. He wouldn't play around like that when a kid was involved, would he? Patrick remembered seeing photos of Ewan's now ex-wife and thinking of how gorgeous the woman was in all of them. Patrick was nowhere near as good looking. Ewan was just nice and that was all it was. Patrick could only hope he treated him normally enough to keep him interested. The blonde finished his beer, tossed the bottle into the recycling bin, and grabbed the baby monitor. He needed to sleep. It would not take long before Liam was awake and another day of work was awaiting him.  
  



	3. Just One Mistake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a little bit of editing. (*cough* A lot of editing*) But I hope everyone is enjoying the story as much as we are being able to write this. It’s about to pick up, I promise. Don’t forget to bookmark so you can see the updates! -Zory

It was nearly a week before Patrick saw Ewan again, not that he was paying attention. Okay, he was paying attention and even Pete had started to notice the anxious way his eyes would dart towards the door every time the bell chimed. It was irritating how his best friend would tease him relentlessly about it. By the third day, Patrick had stopped looking and Pete had respectfully kept quiet about the entire situation. Ewan was a busy man, and he said he'd be back. Patrick believed him.

“You’re really missing him, huh?” Pete asked startling Patrick who had been staring off into space. Liam was in his playpen in the back, his happy babbling noises echoed over the baby monitor. 

It was a rather rainy day and the cafe was empty. Pete could have gone home half an hour ago, but the temptation to spend some time with his busy friend was too good to resist. As busy as Patrick was, it seemed he enjoyed the work they did, and Pete never minded helping out, especially when he got to watch the blonde meet his celebrity crush and then continuously embarrass himself. That was fun, too. Of course, Pete would always offer a shoulder or comment when Patrick needed it, but he was certain that the blonde was doing fine.

Patrick didn’t seem to know he’d told Ewan about Patrick’s crush, and the tattooed man was glad for it. He would never hear the end of it had he overheard. He hadn’t meant to say something to Ewan, but then he did as if his mouth operated separately from his head. His mouth had no filter. He’d been worried that Patrick had heard it on the monitor but there has been no sign of it since then. Despite that, it had been on Pete’s mind a lot. Was it  _ really _ just a celebrity crush? His friend had spent a bit of time with the actor now and they had started to get to know each other. Was it still  _ just _ a celebrity crush?

“Patrick…,” he spoke up to get his friend’s attention as he leaned against the counter, glad for the moment alone together with nobody else in the cafe to disturb them. He watched Patrick blink, his eyes focusing on Pete. “He’s come in here so often lately...even with the breaks in between. I’ve just...I know you had a bit of a crush on him...do you…” He sighed in frustration at the lack of words and shook his head. 

“Pete, stop,” The blue-if-its-a-boy eyes locked in on Pete and sent a shiver down the tattooed man’s spine. A second passed between them in silence and Pete waited. He waited for his friend to speak, to tell him what was on the tip of his tongue. “I know what you’re going to say, so stop. I can look after myself.”   
  
“‘Trick, that’s not what I was going to say. I just wanted to know...you’ve  _ met _ him now. Is he everything you thought he would be?” Their eyes met again and there was a glimmer of humor in Pete’s eyes, though he was still serious.

“I…” Patrick stuttered as he failed to come up with an answer on the spot, the back of his neck heating up as his face turned red. “I don’t  _ know _ him. Just because we talked a couple of times…”   
  
“You still like him.”   


“Of course I like him. He’s a likable guy.”   
  
“You  _ like _ like him…”   
  
“Shut up, Pete.”

“Just be careful, Patrick.”

“Shut  _ up _ , Pete,” Patrick said again even more fervently, his hands working fast as he made himself a coffee. The warm drink in his hand calmed the emotions as they stood there, waiting for the rain to stop. Like it or not, the actor was still on Patrick’s mind and didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The rain continued to splash against the window, a staccato of vibration that soothed the mind of the troubled barista. Pete studied his face but said nothing else. If he pushed too much, he’d have a grumpy blonde to deal with the rest of the day. It was already gloomy enough because of the non-stop pouring outside.

Ewan, meanwhile, found himself stuck in the middle of a downpour, a folder under his jacket and a hat on his head as he walked down the street. He'd decided to walk instead of drive since the cafe was so close to his new place, but halfway there the skies had opened up and rained down upon him. As ridiculous of a sign as that was, he’d continued towards the cafe in the hopes it would all be worth it once he passed through that door. He'd been able to save the papers by shoving them in his coat, but the rest of him had taken on the full assault of the rain and he was soaked through once he made it to the familiar shop.

He shook some of the water droplets from his hair as he walked inside and looked around. The place was empty. Ewan set his folder and hat down on a table and peeled the dripping jacket from his body. After a quick run of his fingers through his wet hair, he went over to the counter, his eyes searching for Patrick but didn’t see him. Despite having gotten caught in the rain, he felt pretty confident about his looks even though his bangs were still wet and dripping. He had high hopes of seeing Patrick today and it didn’t matter what he looked like, he was going to leave here with a date.

Pete stood up and greeted him with a quirky little smile and Ewan smiled back before he ordered his usual and looked at the little treats that were on display. Deciding on a muffin, Ewan glanced up at Pete and spoke. "Whichever kind of muffins you got today. I'm just going to sit down until it's ready..." His voice was soft, pleasant as he looked at Pete. This man was Patrick’s friend and he had to make some sort of an impression. He had a feeling that Pete wouldn’t be as easy to impress as some others. Really, he just wanted to ask where Patrick was but thought it might be rude.

Returning to the table, Ewan sat down and stretched before he opened the folder in front of him. A new script lay before him, one he was reading just to see if it was a project he wanted to work on. While he really had to try and decide on if he wanted in on this project, his mind was far more concerned about when he would see Patrick. He had a strong feeling that the blonde was in the backroom and when Pete disappeared into the back he knew he was right. 

Patrick was busy in the backroom, singing softly to Liam who was finally falling asleep. "Trick!" Pete crashed into the room excitedly, and Patrick froze until he saw Liam wasn't going to wake up. Sending Pete a murderous glare as got up and furiously made his way over to him, Patrick grumbled to him in a hushed tone.

"This better be good, Pete," he griped, eyeing the way the caffeinated man-child bounced on his toes. He'd have to limit the number of free drinks he gave him. Shaking his head, he huffed and put his hands on his hips. “So? What’s so important?”

"He's here!" Pete said excitedly. Patrick didn't need a name to know who he was talking about. The angry expression faded from his face almost instantly and instead began to turn red. Unable to fully figure out what to say, he stuttered unintelligently before managing to spit out one word.

"What?" He squeaked and took a moment to peek out of the doorway. He saw the dark-haired man bent over papers on the table. Even soaking wet, the man was gorgeous. Patrick glanced at his own attire, a black apron stained with coffee over a black shirt and crimson skinny jeans. Not his best ensemble, for sure, but he'd been in a hurry that morning; just like he was every morning. He quickly brushed a hand through his hair before replacing his fedora and went out to the espresso machine. 

Ewan had tried to stay quiet and focused on his paper, but his heart did race a little bit as he heard Patrick moving around in the back, and then the door opened and there were footsteps. Ewan’s face flushed but he didn’t lift his eyes from the script, denying himself a glimpse of the blonde as he waited for Patrick to make the first move.

Patrick had Ewan's order ready quickly and Pete set a plate down in front of him with one bran muffin. Patrick grabbed a clean towel from the drawer and threw it over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath to calm down, the barista walked towards the table with the baked good and specialty coffee in tow. Ewan’s eyes were focused on the papers in front of him, reading whatever it was with an intensity Patrick hadn’t seen in his eyes before. Swallowing back his nerves, he smiled and stopped in front of the table.

"Adding a muffin today?" He spoke up to grab Ewan’s attention. As the man lifted his head, Patrick’s gaze wandered to where the bruise was, surprised to see it was nothing more than a small red spot and a tiny scratch. He couldn’t help but grin, pleased by this, and placed both the muffin and coffee at Ewan's elbow and offered the towel for him to dry off.

Ewan’s fingers were still shivering a bit from the cold, so when Patrick brought the coffee over, he looked up to the blonde gratefully and the towel. He used the soft cloth to dry his hair and face a bit better, the dark strands of hair sticking up a little haphazardly as the towel removed all the excess water. He stopped and put the towel on his lap before he glanced back up at the other with a goofy smile and leaned on the table.

"Well, I figured I'd come sit here to read over this new script and have breakfast...Clearly, that was not a well thought out plan, huh?" He laughed a bit and looked out the window at the rain, then pulled the plate with the muffin closer to him and looked at it with hunger. It wasn’t his favorite muffin - bran - but it would do the trick.

"It actually wasn't supposed to rain till tonight, but who can guess what Mother Nature wants, right?" Patrick grinned and took the towel back from him while his heart hammered away in his chest. Patrick wondered if he should leave Ewan alone. The man was obviously working, but Patrick continued to fidget as he stood awkward beside the table, unable to pull himself away. 

"Does that slow business down for you?”

Patrick shrugged. "No one ever wants to go out in this mess. When it rains like this, I usually leave early. Sometimes we even close early, but I haven’t decided yet.” His gaze fell down to the papers and smiled.

Ewan took a sip of his coffee and held the cup in his hands to warm himself, sitting back as he continued to chat with Patrick. His eyes focused on the blonde’s face, not looking away for a second though he kept his relaxed expression. "Well, call me 'no one' cause here I am.." He chuckled a bit at his own joke and hoped that it would appeal to Patrick, feeling his body warm as the blonde sent a smile his way.

“A new script, huh? Is it any good?" Patrick tried not to read what was on the pages because it would have been rude and he hated when people looked over his shoulder. It was still quite the temptation, however, and he took a step back to prevent himself from caving in. Instead, he turned back to look at Ewan’s lips curling around the mouth of the cup rather than the script on the table, which really didn’t do anything for his temptations.

"Well, I don't know really...I've been staring at the same line since I sat down." With a little shrug, the actor sat back and picked up the muffin, eagerly biting into it. "Did you want to sit and chat? Or are you too busy?" He grinned at that and looked around the still empty cafe with a laugh. Patrick glanced around the cafe when Ewan did, grimacing at the emptiness even if he was grateful for it at this moment.

"Well, Liam's asleep. Let me grab my own coffee?" He didn’t wait for an answer and quickly went back to the espresso machine, pausing for a moment to smack Pete’s arm with the damp towel. His rather  _ annoying _ best friend was batting his eyelashes behind the tower of cups and out of Ewan’s view.  _ Thankfully _ . “Ass,” he mutters affectionately as Pete yelped. He'd hate to murder his best employee. Not to mention that training someone new would take far too much time and effort. He took off his apron while he was behind the counter, hung it up, and took his white soy mocha back to the table, and sat down across from Ewan.

"So is the script so boring that you’re  _ this _ desperate for your barista’s company?” He teased, taking a sip of his own coffee and humming happily at the flavor. Ewan smiled at him and nibbled on his muffin idly.

"It's not that... I guess I'm just distracted." With a small smile, he glanced at Patrick, before looking back down to his muffin again. Picking another piece from it, he ate it slowly, licking some of the crumbs from his fingers as he did.

"It's hard to read when you're distracted," the blonde agrees, taking another sip. Patrick opens his mouth to say something when all thought leaves his brain. Watching Ewan's tongue wrap around his fingertips, it seemed like time slowed down and he was watching in slow motion. He quickly went from having no thoughts to having all sorts of  _ filthy  _ ideas. "O-oh," Patrick stuttered out and quickly looked at his coffee instead of Ewan. His cheeks felt hot and he knew he was blushing. "I can't concentrate on rainy days either. I just want to lay in bed and listen to it."  _ Well.. that was lame _ , he thought. 

Ewan couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face as he watched the way Patrick reacted. Good sign. Reaching out, he grabbed his coffee cup that was actually very close to Patrick's hand and took a slow sip from it. Still watching the way that Patrick reacted, he found it adorable. The awkwardness of the other man had him...intrigued. 

With a little nod, Ewan sat back and looked out the cafe window. "I get that... I've always loved the sound of the rain. If I'm lucky enough to not have to work when it's raining, I just open a window and listen to it." It was the best cure for a headache...or a heartache. 

His eyes focused on the drops as they fell, disappearing into the puddles on the ground, and suddenly it was as if he could feel each vibration that came with the ripples. Each drop of rain sent an earthquake through his world. He felt it emotionally rather than physically and sniffed a bit. Covering it up with a shiver, he laughed a bit awkwardly and sipped from the coffee again before looking back to Patrick.

"It's almost like a metronome,” Patrick pressed on and his finger moved back and forth, clicking his tongue in time with the beat. “The beat is never the same speed, but it always seems steady. Sometimes that steadiness is calming."

Ewan was drawn in by the words the other spoke, and as he studied Patrick's face he wondered what struggles the other would have faced for him to hear such truth behind the beautiful words. Swallowing another sip of coffee, he sighed and nodded. "I agree..." It was all he could say, but his mind was racing with thoughts about Patrick and his history. He was so eager to learn more about the blonde across from him, but a million thoughts overcrowded his brain and made it impossible for any of the questions to come out of his mouth.

Instead, he picked up another piece of muffin and shoved it in his mouth before he could make a fool out of himself. "Let's move on to something a little more cheery, shall we?" With a small smile, he pushed the muffin towards Patrick so that he could take a piece if he wanted. "How's my new best friend doing?"

Staring at the muffin, Patrick eventually accepted the offer and broke off a piece, putting it in his mouth, and took his time before meeting Ewan’s gaze again. He doesn't really like bran, preferring something sugary sweet, but if Ewan offered he wasn't going to complain. Ewan finished his coffee before moving the script to the side. He could deal with it later. In the meantime, he would try to make this last as long as possible. Could he consider this a date? Well, the word had never been used, but if this went well, then there was a good chance he could get a real date soon. 

"New best friend?" Patrick asked, both shocked and secretly pleased. “Fine, I guess...I’ve been working a lot but I get by. I like what I do here, so it’s nice...though I wish I had more time to spend with my son some days…”

“Oh, well…” Ewan smiled a bit, embarrassed though he’s not sure if he’s embarrassed for himself or for the other. “That’s great to hear...um, I mean good to know...but I was actually talking about Liam. He’s my little buddy, you know? After helping me hide the other day.” He chuckles a bit but bites his lip

Patrick didn’t even bother hiding his own embarrassment at the misunderstanding. Of course, he had been talking about Liam. That was the sign he needed though, and even though his heart sinks, he forces a smile. Ewan was just a nice guy and now that he knew Ewan wasn't flirting with him, he could stop guessing. "Oh,” Patrick said, playing at innocence instead of dissecting his own emotions about the matter. After all, Patrick was just a coffee shop owner and Ewan was...well, Ewan. Maybe it’d be different if he was who he used to be, but Patrick had stepped away from that life when Liam had come into the world. 

“But, I was kind of hoping you and I would spend more time together before we named whatever we are…especially since I plan on sticking around for a while.”

Wait... _ what?! _

"Sticking around huh?” Patrick managed to get out before he quickly took a sip of his coffee in an effort to hide the bright blush blooming across his face. His fingers picked off another piece of the muffin but he didn't eat it. Instead, he crumbled it up in his fingers and played with it, trying to find a distraction as he organized his thoughts. Ewan thought there could be a  _ them. _ The blonde liked that thought more than he probably should.  Finding his bravery, he leaned further across the table, dropped his voice as if he was telling a secret, and spoke. "Are you off today or do you just have a long morning?”

"Well, I've got some time off now until the next project. A few interviews but nothing too crazy. I was just going to use it to finish setting up my new place...but if you ever need a sitter..." Ewan blinked and shrugged a bit. He doubted that the man was just going to give him his kid and trust him to look after the boy. Still, he could see how Patrick never really would get time to take Liam places and he could help. 

"You're offering to babysit Liam?" He looked at Ewan, tilting his head to the side not only in confusion but wariness. For one, Patrick had nearly offered to take the man out, was working up his nerves to ask but then... He offered to babysit instead? He liked Ewan, and he was a huge fan, but his son was... well his son was the light of his life and he wasn't sure if he could just let Liam go somewhere without him. He barely left him at his parents and only in an emergency, otherwise, he was always there. He was having a hard time reading what Ewan wanted.

"Maybe I will take you up on that next time," he chuckled nervously, trying to brush off how weird all of this felt."Or when you're done setting up your place? I mean, I could always help and let you play with Liam," he grimaced and shook his head. "Or you could come over to mine," he flinched because that didn't sound any better. "Okay, wait," he says slowly, taking a deep breath. 

Ewan blinked in confusion at first, not sure exactly what tangent they were on anymore but then grinned a bit, shaking his head. "I was really just kidding. Kinda..." He bit his lip and looked down, embarrassed. "I wouldn't expect you to let me look after your kid. You don't even know me..." He paused a bit and looked at him, tilting his head. "It was really just a pathetic excuse in case you didn’t like what I said about us being...whatever. But since you're offering...I wouldn't mind some company while I set everything up, but it's not really set up for kids yet..."

If Patrick could slam his head against the table repeatedly and not make more of a spectacle of himself, he would. The blonde opened his mouth to respond but a loud crash broke the silence before a loud wail came over the baby monitor. "I swear I'm going to kill Pete," he muttered as he stood, picking up the baby monitor and placed it on his hip. "I'm sorry," he said to Ewan before he walked to the back. As he passed Pete, he sent him a glare and held up his hand before his best friend could apologize. 

He hurried back to the breakroom and picked up Liam, humming softly to soothe him. Grabbing the diaper bag off of the floor that has the other baby monitor hooked to the strap, he walked back towards the front and set it on the counter so he doesn’t have to bend over with Liam in his arms. Taking only the supplies he needed, the blonde excused himself to the bathroom with the fussy two-year-old.

Pete watched as Patrick disappeared into the bathroom before he sat down across from Ewan with a chocolate chip muffin. His eyes narrow slightly as he takes him in.

"You come in here a lot. Why?" 

Ewan almost didn't notice Pete, too deep into his own head to notice the world around him, until Pete sat down across from him with obvious purpose. Looking at the dark-haired guy sitting across from him, Ewan raised a brow. "Um...Pete right?" He nodded a bit and sighed. "It's close to home and I drink coffee...and uh..." He hesitated and looked down, scratching his neck, feeling a bit awkward. He didn't want to say it out loud, especially to some random guy. He didn't have a good history with this. "Why?"

Pete crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table, examining the actor. "I'm asking the questions here." He watched him a few more seconds before deciding to actually answer Ewan's question.

"We have regulars, and we have people who come in frequently, but none of them take the time to sit with Patrick or pay attention to Liam. We're just the people who give them their caffeine fix." Sighing, he ran a hand through his dark hair before he crossed his arms.

"You probably get this a lot, being...," he waved his hand at Ewan in a vague gesture," famous and all, but he likes you. A lot. And he doesn't just let anyone hold his son. So if you're not interested, you need to tell him. He's a big boy, and he can understand, but I don't want him to get the wrong idea if you're not actually, you know, planning on being serious with him."

Ewan blinked a bit in shock and stared at Pete. He really didn't know what to say. It was, well, awkward. This guy he barely knew was telling him what he was used to and what he should be doing, and he didn't really like that. Still, when he said that Patrick liked him, he tuned in a bit more.

"I didn't realize he had such an aversion to people holding Liam. I wouldn't have if I'd known..." Biting his lip, he felt a bit bad about that...and his jokes about looking after him. If he really was that particular about it, then it was inappropriate for him to have said or offered anything.

Seconds later, his phone vibrated and a frown came across his face. Letting out a loud sigh, he shook his head. "I should go...thanks for uh...the talk...I guess.." Giving Pete a weird look, he grabbed his things and left.

Pete was confused and felt a bit guilty. That didn't answer any of his questions...or maybe it did and now he had totally fucked things up for Patrick. At least Patrick didn't know and if Ewan stopped showing up then Patrick wouldn't know it was because of Pete.

He stood up and began to clean off the table when he heard the door to the back slam close. "Hey Patrick, Ewan had to," he spoke up, though as he turned around he trailed off as he saw the pissed off look on Patrick's face. No, it's not pissed off so much as hurt and he watches as the blonde walks behind the counter and slammed the baby monitor on top.

Shit.

"Patrick, I-" he quickly stopped talking again as his friend and owner stomped towards the back. He can hear some things moving around though he doesn't dare go back and ask. When he came back out later, he has his backpack on his shoulder. Pete watched as Patrick grabbed the diaper bag and sighed.

"It was just a crush Pete," his friend says quietly, not looking at him. "I was enjoying the friendship," he spoke as he shouldered the diaper bag. "Call Andy or Joe to come in early if you need the help. I'm taking Liam home."

Patrick was mortified as he left, unsure if he was mad that Pete had talked to Ewan, or if it was the way Ewan had reacted. Hearing the conversation over the baby monitor had made him want to crawl into a hole. Damn Pete for always being able to read him and for just being him. He was perfectly fine with the way things were and now they were ruined.

Ewan probably thought he was a crazed fan and that was something he was never going to live down. He texted Andy and asked him to open the store for him in the morning, grateful he had three people he could trust with his cafe. He wasn’t going to hide. It was his shop, but the thought of seeing Ewan the next day sent his heart racing downward into a spiral of anxiety. Andy of course agreed to swap the schedule and Patrick promised to fill in at the record shop one for him. He just needed a day off. 

  
  
  



	4. Sometimes We Take Chances

Ewan had been really caught off guard by how direct Pete was and he didn't really know how to respond to it at the time. He was definitely interested in Patrick, and knowing that the blonde was also interested in him made things a lot easier. He wasn't exactly intimidated by Pete, but he could tell Pete was being very serious. Ewan didn't want to come across like he was just playing around and he had to pick his words right. 

But then he got the text message. 

The court date had been moved up and there was nothing he could do about that. He had to get home right away. The court would be deciding who got custody of his daughter, Clara, and while he never wanted to take her away from her mother, Ewan was determined to get at least equal custody as his ex-wife. He didn't want anybody taking his daughter away from him. 

That meant they would be looking into  _ where _ he was living and how he was doing. He had a nice place and it was in a good neighborhood, but it needed a lot of clean up before they could inspect it. The court date was now on Wednesday and before then someone would be coming by to look the place over. He was really not prepared.

The rest of the day was spent picking things up at the store and trying to get the place as set up as he could. The spare room didn't have the furniture in it yet. They said it would take at least a few days to come in. He tried to convince them to make it quicker, but it didn't seem that would happen. 

Still, he got the place secured for a toddler. Everything was baby-proofed and ready to go. There was no liquor in his house anymore and the fridge was full of fruits and vegetables. Everything he believed he needed to make sure he didn't lose his daughter.

~!~

By Friday, his place was a disaster. Empty beer bottles and pizza boxes littered the floor and his TV was playing some rerun of an old British comedy, though he barely paid attention. He'd lost the case. As much as he tried, the Judge didn't believe that he could share custody.

Instead, she got full custody. It wasn't a complete loss, though. Ewan got to have Clara at his place every other weekend, though not until he got her room set up and could prove he'd be around during those times. 

The second item was easier to do. With little issue, he had it written into his contract that he wouldn't film on the days he had Clara - as long as he gave them enough notice. The first was proving a bit more difficult. There was a long list of things that the care worker had listed wrong with his place; things he hadn't even thought of. 

The furniture would now not arrive for another two weeks and even then, some of it had to go back as it didn't 'follow the guidelines' set out by the court. Ewan just felt terrible. So he stayed home. He ordered in and he drank. He watched stupid comedies to try and distract him and didn't let his mind wander.

~!~

Over the weekend, Ewan got his head out of his ass and started to come around. It wasn't all lost and at least the court had agreed to him seeing Clara. That meant his ex-wife would not be able to stop it even if she wanted to do so. As long as he continued to have a safe place for his daughter and stayed responsible, he would get to see her. 

It was enough of a kick to get him back in gear and Ewan spent the weekend cleaning up his place. He made arrangements to clean up the list and soon all that was left was the furniture. There was not much he could do about that, though. 

In better spirits by Monday, he decided to get out of the house and get some fresh air. The weather was much better than the last time he'd gone for a walk and he was glad for that. Nearing the coffee shop, he paused for a moment as he was reminded of what Pete had told him.  _ He likes you, a lot.  _

The thought made Ewan smile. Today, he would try his luck and ask him out. Patrick might not have a lot of time, but certainly, they could find something they could do together. With a deep breath, he opened the door and went in.

~!~

After he saw Ewan last, Patrick could only stand being by himself in his home for a few hours. By mid-afternoon the next day, he had texted Andy to let him know he'd be able to open as usual the next day. He liked working the early shift and it made sense. Joe and Pete were night owls and usually closed for him while Andy would come in for a couple of hours with the morning rush. Andy didn't actually need this job, being fairly successful with the record store that he and Joe both owned, but it was nice to have his friends here and he even pulled the occasional shift at the music store to change things up. When Liam was with him, though, he mostly just worked at the cafe.

So by Wednesday, he was back in the cafe and when Pete came in to work with him, he had chosen to ignore the other day entirely and his friend seemed grateful for that. It took a few hours, but the strain with them eventually dissipated and things were back to normal.  _ Mostly _ .

Ewan not showing up continued to put a damper on his mood though. He wished Pete had never said anything, but it was probably for the best that something had been said this early. At least now he could move on with what little dignity he had left.

Still, every day that Ewan didn't come back made him feel like shit. He had genuinely liked the guy. The soft smile, the slight blush, the way his blue eyes peeked through his lashes, and most importantly, the way he had been with Liam. Belatedly, Patrick realized it was more than a crush, but he supposed to Ewan it looked like a fan going overboard. He didn't blame the guy for not showing up. He just wished his heart would listen and stop hurting.   
  
~!~   
  
Patrick spent the weekend with Liam and his parents. He was desperate for any distraction from the heaviness in his chest. The fact that it had lingered this long made him feel ridiculous. He was acting like a lovesick teenager and that was more than a little embarrassing.    
  
Monday afternoon was slow. There wasn't a soul in the cafe and while it wasn't abnormal for a Monday, Patrick was bored. Liam was keeping him some company but the active one-year-old was busy playing in his playpen behind the counter, oblivious to his dad watching him from his stool. When the bell rang above the door, he shook his head at his son drooling over a toy before turning slowly towards the customer. "All of the baked goods are half off with the purchase of a...Ewan?" He trails off, eyes wide as he sees the dark-haired actor on the other side of the counter.

A million emotions went through him at that moment: Happiness, embarrassment, anger but most importantly was the desire to crawl under the counter. He stood his ground though and lifted his chin a little, his eyes wary.

As soon as Ewan saw Patrick, he immediately wished he had shaven off the bit of scruff on his face beforehand. He didn't count on the other looking so good, though really what was he expecting? Of course, he would. 

"The usual?" Their eyes lock as Patrick speaks and Ewan felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Standing on the opposite side of the counter felt a little strange after the weekend he'd had, but he pushed the thought aside and smiled at Patrick softly. With a little nod, he pulled out a few bills and grinned. "Or...you know what? Why don't I try something new? Surprise me..."

Looking over to where the young boy was playing, he grinned and waved a little towards the child. "Hi, Liam...."

Patrick couldn't fathom why Ewan had come back. He was at a complete loss and the man on the other side of the counter was acting like nothing had happened. Patrick hated the way the scruff on his jaw made him look rugged and the way his thoughts focused on how it would feel to rub his cheek against it. No, those thoughts were bad and something Ewan definitely wasn't interested in. His days of silence were meant to make Patrick realize it wasn't what he thought it was. It had to be.

He could only nod mutely as he grabbed a cup and wrote Ewan's name on it before going to the espresso machine. Liam gurgled and giggled, holding out drool soaked hands and his stuffed toy towards Ewan as if offering the actor a chance to play as well. Patrick watched out of the corner of his eyes as his baby looked up at Ewan.   
  
Ewan watched Patrick and noticed almost immediately the silence between the two of them. He must have known what happened the last few days. Any normal person would feel awkward talking to someone who had just lost their kid. All Ewan could think about now was what Patrick must think of him. How terrible must he be to lose his kid like that and be thinking instead about his cute barista?

Patrick was doing his best to focus on the coffee he was making. Ewan liked hazelnut so he added a pump of that as well as some of his dark chocolate syrup before adding the espresso. Instead of regular milk, he used almond milk to add to the nutty flavor and to sweeten up the bitter dark chocolate. With a little whip cream on top, he put on the lid and slid it over silently towards the man.

Ewan looked down and bit his lip as he tried to think of something to say when the cup was placed in front of him. Looking to it, he smiled nervously and glanced back up to Patrick. "What is it?" He asked and picked it up eagerly.

"It's an almond Hazelnut dark mocha," Patrick said with a shrug, pulling the sleeves of his cardigan down over his hands in a nervous gesture.

Ewan took a sip and almost instantly his face lit up and he grinned at the other. "This is incredible..." He chuckled a bit and sipped from it again carefully.

Patrick bit his lip, fidgeting as he watched Ewan sip the coffee. He wanted this to be less awkward, but he had no idea what to do. As Liam gurgled again, Patrick glanced at his son before looking back at the actor."Do you...want to play with Liam?" He asked cautiously, knowing Ewan had like it the last time. Ewan’s eyes widened and he looked to Patrick in shock. 

"I...really?" He was more than happy to play with Liam but was a bit surprised that it had been offered to him.

"Of course, he likes you and you're not a bad dude." Patrick smiled and opened the door to the counter. Ewan was happy to see that Patrick still trusted him enough with his kid and right now, he could use a bit of time with a child. It would cheer him up a bit, even if it was someone else's child. Moving behind the counter, he grinned at the small boy and waved again, taking a toy as it was offered to him. "Wow, that's so cool buddy..." 

"I just need to dip into the back for a second. Will you two be okay?” Patrick asked and Ewan nodded.

"Okay, me and this dude will hang out..but I'm terrible at making coffee so if someone comes in, I'm tagging you in." With a little chuckle, he sat down on the floor and took Liam into his lap. Picking up one of the soft, plush dinosaurs he made a little voice as he pretended it could speak and smiled at the boy.

“Okay, I'll be back in a minute," he said slowly before heading down the hallway. Once Patrick was in the storage room and the door was shut, he rested his body against the wall and let out a heavy breath.

He wasn’t sure why he was freaking out, but the weirdness had him panicking. He struggled to catch his breath. He hadn’t felt like this since he stood on the stage for the first time or maybe back in gym class. He knew what an asthma attack feels like and while this isn't it, he went through his breathing exercises to calm down anyway.

He's being an idiot. Ewan was back because of the coffee. He'd said it was close to his house and easy to get to - that was it. And he liked the coffee. That was all. Patrick took a few more deep breaths before he grabbed a few stacks of cups and a bag of coffee went back to the front.

Patrick came back a bit more calmer than he had left, but Ewan hadn't seemed to notice his mild breakdown. There was no reason to panic. Nothing had changed and nothing was going to change. He stacked the cups, chuckling quietly at the way Ewan's voice changed as the toy danced. Liam loved it too if the way he was giggling and clapping his hands meant anything.

Patrick was content to just watch them as he wiped down the counter and washed some of the dishes he had used. As he was drying his hands off on his apron, the bell dinged again and when the blonde looked up, the whirlwind that was Pete Wentz was barreling into the cafe.

Ewan heard the bell as the door opened and he was prepared to get off the floor and out of Patrick's way should he had to make an order for someone but then he heard Pete's voice. 

"He didn't leave because of what I said!" The brunette exclaimed and Patrick frowned before the phone was shoved into his face from across the counter. He gripped Pete's wrist and pushed it back a little so he could see what the man was trying to show him. His heart was racing. Ewan was on the ground with Liam, sitting right next to him and it was clear Pete had no idea. He just hoped that Pete wouldn’t embarrass Patrick - or himself. 

Ewan glanced up at Patrick, but just stayed put. It was clear rather quickly that Pete was talking about him. Did Patrick think he hadn't been around because of what Pete said? He couldn't see Pete from where he was sitting on the floor, but he did see the hand shove a phone in the blonde's face. The next words made him tense.

"See? He had this huge custody battle that just went to total shit. He didn't leave because I told him that you liked him." Patrick's eyes widened when he saw Ewan's name at the top of the article but what really caught his eye was the words under it saying Ewan had lost his custody battle against his wife. More than anything, he wanted to look over at Ewan but he resisted. Instead, he swallowed and narrowed his eyes at his friend.

_ Custody battle. _ Ewan heard the words and paled. He looked down at Liam and tried to not get upset. It was still kind of raw for him and he'd been doing pretty well at thinking positively about it. Having Patrick knowing now that he'd lost the right to be a father had him feeling all kinds of shitty. 

"Pete," Patrick growled, squeezing his fingers around his wrist just enough to get his attention. When the brunette looked at him, Patrick glared at him. "When will you stop butting into other people’s lives? I think you've done enough to harass him." He frowned and shoved Pete’s hand away before he took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. 

Ewan was ready to get up and leave. He felt like all his dirty laundry was open in the public eye - not just for Pete and Patrick but knowing that there were articles all over the internet didn’t help how he felt at all, but then Patrick had said  _ that. _ And things felt...different. He was a bit surprised. Not that Patrick wasn't a good person, but he barely knew Ewan and yet he was being so...understanding. Pete started to talk again, but Patrick held a hand up to stop him.

"I don't care Pete. It's his business. If he wanted me to know he'd tell me and something like that doesn't say anything about him. It's none of our business. My custody battle wasn't anyone else's business but mine and Melanie’s. Give him the same dignity." His eyes widened in mortification at Pete, slowly turning to look at Ewan out of the corner of his eyes before shooting back to Pete.

Ewan had heard enough and stood up. There was silence behind him but he didn’t look at either of them as he put Liam back into the playpen. Certainly, Patrick wasn’t going to want him around his son now that he knew the truth. As understanding as he was while talking to Pete, it didn’t mean anything. He was just being polite since Ewan was right there, but his true opinion was still unknown. Ewan knew though. What kind of a person loses the right to have their child? 

Now that Liam was out of his arms, Ewan didn’t really know what to do next. He turned around where he stood and Patrick's eyes fell on him. Ewan didn't know what to say. He was embarrassed. He was uncertain. Biting his lip, he sighed and looked down awkwardly before nodding. "Yeah, so...that's where I've been..."

Patrick was nearly overwhelmed with relief that Ewan hadn't left because of what was said. Almost immediately it was replaced with guilt and shame that he'd been so selfish to think Ewan wasn't coming back because of him. And then there was the fact that all of this had come from Pete’s mouth in possibly the most embarrassing way ever. His mouth opened and closed, trying to find the words to apologize though none of them came to mind. He didn't even know how to begin to apologize.

"Pete, maybe you should come back tomorrow. I can handle it the rest of the day," he finally spoke instead, though the brunette had already backed up at the sight of the actor behind the counter. 

Ewan watched as Pete ran out of the cafe, clearly embarrassed before he glanced back at Patrick and smiled weakly. "Look, uh...about all of that..." He didn't really know what he was going to say, but Patrick went over to Liam and picked him up, before practically pushing him into Ewan's arms. "He needs to be fed and I have some work to do. Do you mind watching him for a few more minutes so I can do the bank deposit?"

Holding the boy carefully, Ewan looked back to Patrick in confusion. "Oh...really?" Looking down at the boy, he smiled at him and then back to Patrick. "I mean, yeah for sure...I can do that..." He couldn't help but grin. "Are you sure?"

"If anyone comes in, come get me," he nodded before he grabbed a jar of baby food and a spoon from the diaper bag. He handed both off to the actor before he went into to back. Ewan nodded a bit and took the food as it was given to him. He had no problem looking after the boy, but he was shocked at how Patrick said nothing to him about what Pete said and just went back to work. It was the strangest thing and he didn't know what to think about it. 

Sitting down at one of the tables, he opened the little jar and scooped up a bit of the food. "Hmm..peas, huh? Clara never liked these much. How about you, bud?" Holding the spoon up, he made a little airplane noise to try and get him to eat. Not much of it really stayed in the boy’s mouth, however, and Ewan ended up wiping mashed peas from his shirt with a chuckle. 

"Should have seen that coming, right?"

It doesn't take long for Patrick to do the deposit. He has done so many in the past that it’s practically second nature. He used the extra minute to think, instead. Ewan hadn't stayed away because of what Pete said. He'd had his own life to deal with and while Patrick hadn't read the article, he'd seen enough to know that he had been incredibly selfish for the way he acted. He was surprised Ewan still wanted to come back. He really was an idiot. With a new mind about the entire situation, he got up and walked back up to the front, offering up a small smile at the actor. 

"We don't usually have a lot of business on Mondays, but it's when I do all of my paperwork."

Grinning at the boy, Ewan shook his head with a sigh and looked up as Patrick came back out. "It's fine...I really don't mind looking after him for a bit, though I don’t have high hopes for these peas."

"Huh, I was hoping he'd eat them if  _ you _ were feeding them to him." Patrick shook his head, a small amused smile on his lips. He went back to the diaper bag and grabbed a container of fruit loops before he pulled a chair over and sat next to Ewan.

"He hates anything green except for fruit loops." The blonde dropped a few on the table in front of Liam and leaned back against his chair. "What about your daughter? Did she like green food? Or vegetables for that matter? What on earth did you do to get her to eat normally?"

Ewan met Patrick’s gaze for a second before he turned back to Liam as he thought about Clara. "Well, Clara really liked veggies when she was little, but never peas. Mostly carrots...sweet potatoes. Really anything that was a bright color, but  _ definitely _ not peas." He thought about how he got Clara to eat the things she didn't want and chuckled a bit to himself over all the messes that went on during that time. 

"In the end, it was her mother who got her to eat it. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but something about her mom singing while she ate made it okay."

"Singing puts Liam to sleep." Patrick dumped a few more fruit loops when Liam eats the ones he was given and smiles at his son. 

Chuckling as Liam ate the circled cereal, he shook his head and moved a couple of pieces closer to him so he could reach. "I think for most babies, singing means sleep but Clara was unique that way I guess...only if her mom sang though. If I tried, she just cried." He grimaced a bit before laughing and adjusted how he was holding Liam so his arm wouldn't get tired.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Patrick became anxious. Pulling his sleeves over his hands, he focuses on his son instead of the actor. “For the record, I don’t read the tabloids. They’re full of lies.” He knew that from experience.

"If you want me to know, then that's fine. If not, that's fine too. What I do know is you're good with Liam and he likes you." He shrugged quietly and looked over at Ewan, noticing a few mashed peas on his collar, and quickly picked it off with a disgusted look. 

Looking down at his collar as Patrick picked a piece of the peas off of him, Ewan smiled weakly and looked at him. "Thanks..." His gaze met with Patrick’s as he brought up the article and quickly shook his head. "It's fine... I...lost." He sighed a bit and looked down, biting his lip. Saying it out loud was something he hadn't actually done yet and it hurt. 

"Don't give up. I had a lot of hoops to jump through to prove I was capable, especially since we weren't married. You're a good guy Ewan. They'll see that, I know it." Patrick smiled, but before he could continue the bell on the front door chimed and Patrick stood to take care of the customer.

Ewan let Patrick go as the customer came in, and focused on keeping Liam happy and fed. The man didn't seem to really care about what was going on around him, and that gave Ewan time to think about what Patrick had said to him. Would it really work out? He could only hope. 

Once the cafe was empty once more, Patrick made himself and Ewan another drink and returned to the table.

Looking at the cup as it was put in front of him, Ewan grinned up at Patrick. "Looking after me? Thanks..." Patrick had to laugh a little at the question and just smiled warmly at Ewan. Maybe he was a little, but the man probably needed it. He knew in those first few weeks when he didn't have the option to see Liam, it had helped to know someone cared about him.

"Everything has a way of working out. Don't worry...and hey, if you need help, I'd be happy to help if I can."

"Well, I'm going to be getting some furniture in the next couple weeks that I could use some help setting up if you ever feel like being a handyman." He laughed a bit, not taking himself or the offer that seriously. He bounced Liam a bit, smiling softly at the young boy.

"Handyman? As long as you didn't order from IKEA, you might be okay. I got something from IKEA once and couldn't understand the instructions and ended up paying someone to do it for me." Patrick grinned, a little embarrassed, and shrugged.

With a little smile, Ewan shook his head. "No, nothing from IKEA. I got it from that really upscale baby place on Rodeo...Cost a fortune but I thought it might help my case so I went all out..."

Patrick nodded thoughtfully, humming to himself. "Can I ask why they said no?" He coughed awkwardly and looked away from Ewan to look at Liam. "You don't have to tell me, but I can see how good you are with kids, and if you're trying, it just doesn't make much sense why they took away your custody."

Ewan was quiet and sighed. "Well, there were a few things I forgot when baby proofing the place, I guess. Once I fix that, I can start to see her every other weekend...but also because of the hours I work and how much of my life is in the public eye, they were hesitant to give me full custody..."

"It's a start then," he smiles encouragingly. "And I know it's a long way off, but she can decide where to live when she's fourteen if you've got partial custody. It's not ideal, but she can see you more after that if she wants."

Ewan nodded and looked down at the cup of coffee. He shook his head and sipped it slowly. A small, content smile grew over his face and he sighed. "How the hell are you this good at this coffee thing? I swear you put cocaine in it or something.."

Patrick laughed at the look on Ewan's face, shaking his head. "I've never seen someone look so happy to drink my coffee before. Is someone paying you to do it?" 

Laughing a bit, Ewan grinned and shook his head. "No, if that was the case someone would be filming me. No cameras means it's all for free..." He paused for a second before smirking a bit. "Call it pro bono..."

Sipping again from the coffee, he looked down as Liam reached for it and took his hand gently before pretending to eat it dramatically.

Patrick laughed even as his face turned pink. He took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to compose himself.  _ Get a grip dude _ , he gripes at himself. He really should grow up sometime soon. By the time he looked back up, Ewan had Liam shrieking in delight and trying to force fruit loops on the poor man. 

"All right, that's enough monster," he said jokingly and grabbed a box of juice from the bag. Liam took it eagerly and he went to pick the baby up before he paused and looked over at Ewan. "He really needs a nap, but as long as he's happy, you can still play if you want?"

Ewan paused and thought for a moment. "Well, I don't want to disturb his schedule. Otherwise, he'll have you up all night if he's anything like Clara was..." Handing the boy over to him carefully, he sat back and smiled at the boy.

Looking back to the coffee cup, he thought quietly. Now was the right time to bring up a date and if he didn't take advantage of the situation, he wasn't sure he'd get to. "I guess this is the second time we've sat down together like this, huh?”

Patrick took Liam, setting him down on his own lap. Liam’s gotten pretty good at holding the bottle on his own so Patrick isn't worried.

"Hmm, yeah, I guess it is," he said thoughtfully as he watched his son. He remembered the last time and grimaced. Stupid Pete and his stupid big mouth. But Pete isn't here this time to make a mess. "I like our talks actually."

"Me, too." Ewan had no problem admitting that. Smiling as he watched Patrick with Liam, he spoke a little softer so that he wouldn't hurt Patrick's attempt to get him to sleep.

"I really like it, actually. It's been a...nice thing to look forward to over the past few weeks. In fact, today is the first time I left the house since..." he paused. That wasn't how he wanted to start this. 

Patrick kept an eye on Liam as the boy slowly drifted off without too much fuss. "It's nice to talk to an actual adult. Pete doesn't count. He's a manchild." He teased, adding in the comedy in hopes of Ewan forgetting about the sadness Patrick can see in his eyes.

"I was thinking, that uh, maybe we could, uh, go somewhere else some time and chat there, too..."

Patrick is shocked by the other’s notion and quickly got up to put the sleeping baby down in the playpen behind the counter, covering him up with a blanket. He’s sure Ewan doesn't mean it in the way Patrick hopes, but he  _ would _ like to talk more. 

Ewan shifted in his seat so that he could face Patrick as he talked to him. His eyes glanced to the playpen where the little boy slept and chuckled. "I'm a little jealous of how easy he goes down. It used to take me over an hour to get Clara to sleep...if she stayed asleep, that was another miracle." It was just to fill the silence while he waited for Patrick to respond to his question. Was it a question? Did he actually phrase it as a question? Ewan couldn’t remember now and bit his lip. Did Patrick even know he’d just asked him out?

Sipping from his cup of coffee, he got up and wandered around the shop a bit. His nerves were getting to him the longer that Patrick took to answer him and his mind was racing at the possible outcomes. He wasn't a self-conscious guy, but this was harder than he thought it would be. 

"Sure,” Patrick’s voice rang through the air and instantly Ewan relaxed, turning to face the barista again, this time with a huge smile. “I mean, you were trying to rope me into building your baby furniture, right?" He laughed awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as best he could but his eyes flickered up at Ewan and blushed when he saw the big smile.

With a little laugh, Ewan nodded, the grin still on his face. "Sure, yeah...I mean that was all in fun...and if I recall, you offered first!" He winked at him, though his gaze lingered on the man a bit longer than he intended. 

"True, I did offer," he says, blushing when the actor winks and he ducks down to hide it. He can feel Ewan's eyes linger on him and it sends warmth through his body, even as he ignores traitorous thoughts. 

"I was actually thinking maybe...dinner?"

"Dinner? Sure. I mean coffee gets stale after a while," Ewan smiled brightly as Patrick agreed. His heart flipped a bit and he bit his lip to try and hide his excitement, though it did little to hide the ever-growing smile.

"When are you free? I have a place in mind...."

"Hmm," Patrick thought, leaning forward on the counter as he pulled a notebook from under the register. It's rare the schedule ever changed, but he can't remember if someone had something going on this week. His eyes glanced over the pages, noting that nothing was changing. Andy and Joe would close the shop, he would open, and Pete worked the midday.

"I don’t work nights," he smiled and replaced the notebook. "So I guess any night is good. He pressed feed on the receipt printer and tore a piece off. He scribbled his phone number on it and willed his fingers not to shake. Friends share their numbers, right? It wasn't a big deal.

Ewan took the phone number as it was given to him and nodded a bit. "How about Wednesday?" He pocketed the phone number as the blonde nodded in agreement, though it would soon just go into his phone anyway. "Should I pick you up, or would you rather meet at the restaurant?" Ewan paused before he smiled and shook his head. "You know, we can talk about it later. I'll text you..." He smiled a bit and leaned in, though paused and stopped himself. With a little smile, he nodded to the door. "I'm going to take off...but we'll talk soon..."

The whole situation had played out in a whirlwind and Patrick just kind of stared at Ewan dumbly as he tried to figure out what to say. "Uh," he tried to start, his mind racing to figure out if he should tell Ewan where he lives just yet or if he should meet him at the restaurant. No friendly obligation to make sure he got home safely...or more.

Luckily Ewan didn't expect an answer just yet. "Sure," he nodded and smiled. They had a couple of days; they could figure it out. "I mean, yea, text me or call." He shrugged and pulled his hat off, running a hand through his hair - a nervous habit he must have done half a dozen times since Ewan came into the cafe. "But uh, yea. I'll see ya later."

Ewan left and grinned like an idiot the whole way home. The phone number that had been given to him went right on to his fridge, even though he put it on his phone as soon as he got home. He liked seeing the handwriting on the tiny piece of paper. It made him smile.

When Ewan left, Patrick stood there in silence, still surprised and in a bit of shock. He slumped down into the nearest chair as he processed what just happened but he stopped any traitorous thoughts before they could form.  _ It wasn't a date _ . They were friends and they couldn't just talk around coffee all of the time. The man had lost a custody battle. He probably just wanted to pick Patrick's brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to hit that Kudos button and bookmark it, too! It'll keep you updated when we post a new chapter!


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